The Mobile Symphony Orchestra (MSO) has announced a stellar lineup of seven outstanding concerts for its 2026-2027 season, including an appearance by piano superstar Emanuel Ax, one of America’s most celebrated classical pianists! Six-concert season subscriptions are now on sale. Tickets for the festive holiday concert can be added to any subscription purchase.
“In a monumental event for our city, we welcome the legendary pianist Emanuel Ax, Musical America’s 2026 Artist of the Year, for his first-ever Mobile appearance,” MSO Music Director Scott Speck said. After decades of thrilling audiences across the globe, Ax is more active than ever. Last year he premiered a concerto for piano and orchestra written for him by John Williams, America’s most popular living composer.
“Our 2026-2027 season is a journey of staggering scope. We scale the heights of the symphonic canon, from the iconic “Fate” motive of Beethoven’s Fifth and the soulful Russian melodies of Tchaikovsky’s Second to the sun-drenched joy of Mendelssohn’s “Italian” and the pop-art effervescence of Kenji Bunch’s Lichtenstein Triptych,” Speck explains.
The season opens in spectacular fashion Oct. 10 and 11, 2026, featuringMussorgsky’s magnificent Pictures at an Exhibition.
MSO’s annual casual concert, Beethoven and Blue Jeans, Nov. 7 and 8, 2026,features two of Beethoven’s biggest hits – Symphony No. 5 and Piano Concerto No. 5 “Emperor” with Stewart Goodyear.
On Jan. 16 and 17, 2027, cellist Benett Tsai headlines a riveting musical celebration with the breathtaking Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto and Tchaikovsky’s joyful Symphony No. 2.
Violinist Chee Yun plays both sides of the equator when Vivaldi’s Four Seasonsblends with Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, on Feb. 20 and 21, 2027.
Emanuel Ax performs Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 on April 10 & 11, 2027and the season ends in epic fashion May 1 and 2, 2027, with The Music of Star Wars, a sweeping collection of John Williams’ most popular works from his Star Warssoundtracks.
MSO’s annual holiday concert is always a much-anticipated family tradition. This season, Dec. 12 and 13, 2026, the orchestra welcomes guest conductor and jazz trumpet player Byron Stripling to lead the orchestra in a swinging holiday celebration from Santa Claus is Coming to Town to Joy to the World!
All concerts in the series are performed twice: Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. at Mobile’s historic Saenger Theatre.
Six-concert season subscriptions are on sale now for $132-$462. Subscriptions can be purchased online, by phone at 251-432-2010 or at the MSO Box Office, 257 Dauphin Street.
Tickets to individual performances, including the holiday concert, will go on sale Aug. 10th for $25-$102. Student tickets to regular concerts are $10. Through the MSO Big Red Ticket program sponsored by the Alabama Power Foundation, students in grades K-12 can attend any of the season’s six classical Sunday performances free when accompanied by a paying adult. More details can be found online at www.mobilesymphony.org.
All concerts have been made possible by grants from the Alabama State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
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The Mobile Symphony has been a regional orchestra for the central Gulf Coast since 1997. Scott Speck serves as music director. In addition to offering a full season of classical and pops concerts, the orchestra serves the area with a wide range of educational and outreach programs including student performances, string academies and a youth orchestra. http://www.mobilesymphony.org
